Lobo, Texas
HISTORY
Welcome to Lobo, Texas
Once A Desert Oasis.
Lobo, Texas is located in Culberson County on US Highway 90. The rise and fall of Lobo followed the same movement of the water table. When founded, Lobo was an oasis with the only water wells within 100 miles, making Lobo a natural place for trains to stop when Southern Pacific built the southern transcontinental railroad in 1882. With the introduction of large-scale irrigation in the 1940s, Lobo became a farming community in the middle of the Texas desert. By the mid-1960s, the railroads no longer needed to stop for water, and the town’s large-scale irrigation had caused the water table to drop significantly enough for the wells to run dry. In 2001, a collective of Germans from Frankfurt, Germany purchased the town for $20,000.
PHOTOS
Sights Around Lobo, Texas
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Willkommen Zu Lobo
In 2001, a collective of Germans from Frankfurt, Germany purchased the town in disrepair, complete with a gas station, motel, general store/post office, and five other buildings.
The new owners had made it a point not to restore the town and preserve it to remain just like it was when they bought it for $20,000.
If you were to buy a rundown ghost town, would you preserve it or restore it?
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Buddy Griffin's Truck Stop
Buddy Griffin was a farmer in Lobo, Texas, and he owned and operated a truck stop on US Highway 90 towards the end of Lobo's heyday in the 1950s. Unfortunately, things would continue to turn for the worse for Lobo starting in the 1960s.
Which are your favorite truck stops when you're road tripping?
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Lobo Motel Sign
In 1962 the railroads no longer needed to stop in Lobo, Texas, for water, as they always had since workers first laid the tracks. Then, by the mid-1960s, the water table had dropped to a point where the wells could no longer supply the town with a reliable water source. Further, as advancements in automotive technology made vehicles more economical and dependable, fewer visitors would need to stop in Lobo for services.
Do you like to stay in historic roadside motels?
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Lobo Town Hall
In 1969 Bill Crist bought the entire town of Lobo, Texas, to save it and reopened the roadside store and service station, but the store burned down in 1976.
By 1988, the entire town was on the market for sale. However, after waiting three years for a buyer to preserve Lobo, Crist gave up and let Lobo become a ghost town.
When you visit today, the town still is fenced off and has the appearance of an abandoned ghost town.
Have you ever visited Lobo, Texas?
